Stewards deliver verdict after huge Sainz-Perez collision

The stewards have taken no further action against Carlos Sainz or Sergio Perez following a crash on the penultimate lap of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Ferrari driver Sainz and Red Bull’s Perez were fighting with Charles Leclerc for the minor podium places after McLaren’s Oscar Piastri had finally managed to pull ahead out front after being hounded by the Monégasque for almost 30 laps.

Perez’s failure to pass Leclerc for second into Turn 1 on the penultimate lap of 51 at the Baku Street Circuit allowed Sainz to sneak up the inside and claim third from the Mexican.

Perez, however, managed to haul himself in behind Sainz out of Turn 2 but in attempting to pass on the inside along the straight on the run up to Turn 3, the duo collided. The impact forced both into a heavy smash into a wall on their left-hand side.

After listening to both of the drivers, and after reviewing video evidence, the stewards have determined that no further action is necessary. 

The stewards’ report read: “The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 11 (Sergio Perez), the driver of Car 55 (Carlos Sainz), team representatives and reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, and in-car video evidence.

“Sainz and Perez made contact and crashed shortly after Turn 2 on lap 50. This is a situation where a small touch had significant consequences. The Stewards reviewed how the incident occurred, not the consequence. 

“Sainz passed Perez after turn 1 and was completely ahead at the apex of turn 2. With a compromised exit by Sainz, Perez pulled to the inside of Sainz. Sainz reported that he was aware of Perez to his inside. 

“Perez, being slightly behind, was in a better position to see the relative location of the cars. But as the two cars approached the wall on the right at the exit of Turn 2, they were about 1m apart. From this point and throughout the incident, neither driver steered erratically, and indeed both kept their steering very neutral. 

“The Stewards checked the driving line of the drivers on pervious laps. Sainz was on or close to his normal racing line, which forms a slight angle away from the right hand wall. From the exit to the point of contact he move approximately one car width further away from the wall. 

“Perez moved approximately half a car width further away from the same wall, being more parallel to the right hand wall. It was thus apparent that while ahead, and having the right to drive his line, Sainz did move slightly towards a car that he had limited vision of. 

“At the same time, there was nothing unusual about Perez’ line, but he could have done more to avoid the car that he had better view of. In conclusion, the Stewards deem this to be a racing incident with neither driver being predominantly at fault, and take no further action.”